In Re Bdk

2007 ND 186, 742 N.W.2d 41, 2007 WL 4245790
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 5, 2007
Docket20070320
StatusPublished

This text of 2007 ND 186 (In Re Bdk) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Bdk, 2007 ND 186, 742 N.W.2d 41, 2007 WL 4245790 (N.D. 2007).

Opinion

742 N.W.2d 41 (2007)
2007 ND 186

Interest of B.D.K.
Adam Miller, PSY.D., Petitioner and Appellee
v.
B.D.K., Respondent and Appellant.

No. 20070320.

Supreme Court of North Dakota.

December 5, 2007.

*42 Gary E. Euren, Assistant State's Attorney, Fargo, for petitioner and appellee.

Douglas W. Nesheim, Fargo, for respondent and appellant.

MARING, Justice.

[¶ 1] B.K. appeals a district court order involuntarily committing him to the North Dakota State Hospital for ninety days. We affirm.

I

[¶ 2] B.K. has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder-bipolar and antisocial personality disorder. On October 1, 2007, the district court committed B.K. to the State Hospital for ninety days.

[¶ 3] The record reveals that, on September 10, 2007, B.K. was kicked out of two downtown Fargo businesses, one of which was a bar, for being disruptive and threatening. B.K. called his family in an attempt to acquire his father's guns. He talked about the CIA, "horsemen," and demanded to see a federal judge. B.K. was brought to the emergency room by *43 law enforcement officers and Southeast Human Services employees. He was admitted to MeritCare in Fargo. He was transferred to the North Dakota State Hospital on September 12. The State Hospital admission form reported his hospitalization was necessary for safety, because B.K. acted psychotically and tried to access weapons. The form also stated that B.K. was too violent and psychotic at the time of his admission to be placed in the community.

[¶ 4] On September 13, Dr. William Pryatel, a staff psychiatrist at the State Hospital, completed a report of examination. The report concluded B.K. is a mentally ill person. The report provided that a serious risk of harm to B.K., others, or property exists. According to the report, there is also a substantial likelihood of B.K. killing or inflicting serious bodily harm on another person or inflicting significant property damage, as manifested by acts or threats. Finally, the report provided that B.K. faces a substantial likelihood of substantial deterioration in physical health, or substantial injury, disease, or death resulting from poor self-control or judgment in providing for shelter, nutrition, or personal care.

[¶ 5] Dr. Pryatel prepared a report assessing the availability and appropriateness of alternate treatment on September 25. The report listed case management, psychiatrist appointments, and medication management by Southeast Human Services as treatment programs considered for B.K. Dr. Pryatel concluded that an alternate treatment program would not be sufficient to meet B.K.'s treatment needs because he is very delusional, verbally and physically threatening, aggressive, uncooperative, and unable to care for himself and attend to his activities of daily living. Dr. Pryatel also concluded alternate treatment would not prevent the danger to self, others, or property presented by B.K. because he is not cooperative at the State Hospital, he trashed his apartment, he was not caring for his dog, and he was not attending to his finances or taking his medications.

[¶ 6] The record indicates that B.K. is taking a series of medications at the State Hospital. Some of the medications are taken on a regular basis and some are p.r.n. medications. The abbreviation "p.r.n." stands for the Latin term "pro re nata," which means "as the occasion arises; when necessary." PDR Medical Dictionary 1445 (2d ed. 2000). The drugs taken on a regular basis include Cogentin, Topiramate, Propranolol, Seroquel, Hydrodiuril, and Zydis. The p.r.n. drugs taken to calm B.K. and stabilize his mood include Vistaril, Loxapine, and Zydis.

[¶ 7] B.K. waived his right to a preliminary hearing. A treatment hearing was held before District Court Judge Steven McCullough on October 1, 2007. Only Dr. Pryatel and B.K. testified at the hearing. Dr. Pryatel, who testified he was familiar with B.K. because he has been admitted to the State Hospital on several prior occasions, said B.K. had been decompensating for several weeks prior to the incident in Fargo on September 10. Decompensation is "[t]he appearance or exacerbation of a mental disorder due to failure of defense mechanisms." PDR Medical Dictionary 462 (2d ed. 2000).

[¶ 8] Dr. Pryatel testified that B.K. has improved since his admission to the State Hospital, but still experiences delusions. Dr. Pryatel testified that B.K.'s delusions have included statements about Russians being at the Canadian border, claims that his father killed John F. Kennedy, statements about flying saucers, claims he has been sent by God as Apollo, and statements that Mark the archangel kicked in his apartment door. Dr. Pryatel testified *44 that, in order to settle down, B.K. requires p.r.n. medications, and B.K. sleeps only three to four hours per night.

[¶ 9] B.K. testified he saw Jesus Christ in a vision when he was in fifth grade, and a light that appeared at that time "screwed him up." He asserted FBI agents tried to drown him in a prison shower because of God's light. He claimed other patients at the State Hospital hit him, but he knows better than to hit back. He testified his father shot John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. He further testified that his father told him he would be safe only in Chicago. He claimed to know a man in Russia who was in a Missouri prison and who blew out some windows in New York to get a Japanese girl to get B.K.B.K. asserted that this man would make a life for him in Russia, where he will have a home and can go swimming.

[¶ 10] In his testimony, B.K. disputed the reason for being initially picked up in downtown Fargo and admitted to MeritCare. B.K. testified that the events leading to his involuntary commitment began when he told a Marine at the Empire Bar that the man was an old seal. B.K. asserted he went into the bar parking lot and peacefully finished his drink, after which he returned the drink glasses to the bar. He said he asked his family for guns so that he could sell them and use the proceeds to get to Russia. He testified he would stay on his medications if released from the State Hospital. B.K. asserted he is not a danger to others. B.K. testified that he has not been violent while at the State Hospital. He said he was unwilling to work with Southeast Human Services, but would be willing to hire his own psychiatrist. If he were released, he testified his plan would be to get his golden lab back and do drywall work in Fargo.

[¶ 11] At the hearing, Judge McCullough found by clear and convincing evidence that B.K. is a mentally ill person. Judge McCullough labeled B.K.'s case a close one, but concluded there is adequate evidence showing B.K. is a person requiring treatment because of a substantial likelihood he will be a danger to others and that his mental health will deteriorate significantly if no treatment is received. Judge McCullough found B.K. may have been a danger to others when he engaged in the alleged delusional and disruptive behavior in downtown Fargo that led to his hospitalization at MeritCare. Based on B.K.'s unwillingness to work with Southeast Human Services, Judge McCullough concluded there is no less restrictive alternative treatment available. An order for hospitalization and treatment signed by District Court Judge Georgia Dawson committed B.K. to the State Hospital for ninety days.

[¶ 12] B.K. appealed the district court order. We temporarily remanded this matter to the district court under N.D.R.App.P.

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Related

In the Interest of M.B.
467 N.W.2d 902 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1991)
Haider v. H.G.
2001 ND 142 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2001)
Williams v. D.P.
2001 ND 203 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2001)
North Dakota State Hospital v. D.A.
2005 ND 116 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2005)
Pryatel v. M.M.
2005 ND 219 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2005)
Miller v. B.D.K.
2007 ND 186 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2007 ND 186, 742 N.W.2d 41, 2007 WL 4245790, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-bdk-nd-2007.